Dasher Diary: How Amarillo Trains Sometimes Derail Our Deliveries

When you take on the role of a delivery driver here in Amarillo it can be an experience. You find out really fast your way around Amarillo. You discover your favorite places to make deliveries. You find new neighborhoods. You learn new shortcuts. You also learn places that you want to avoid.

I make a lot of deliveries out to Tradewinds and I have experienced the trains in the area that seem to always love to slow us down. I have learned to head to the area down 34th. No train blocking my way at all. Then I come back down 46th to Washington because it just seems faster. Oh, and I don't have to make a left-hand turn on 34th with all the traffic.

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That is one thing I would love to see more lights on 34th. I hate making a left-hand turn with so many people using 34th. It's difficult to sometimes return back to my area from the Tradewinds.

I do make sure when I am approaching the Tradewinds area to notice whether there is a train coming or not. If there is not then I know that is the way I am going home. I recently veered from my normal plan.

For whatever reason the GPS wanted me to take 46th to my dropoff location. Against my better judgment, I listened to it. I will not make that mistake again. Not only was there a train that was going to stop me. The train was stopped. It was not moving at all. There was one lonely vehicle waiting. Everyone else was turning around and going a different way.

I messaged my customers to let them know. Then I made the drive to get back on 34th and head the way I should have initially gone. Oh, and guess what? When I got near the area I could see the train was still stopped.

After I dropped off the food and going to make my return to the Georgia Street area I had to decide which way to go back. Again, I glanced down 46th and guess what? The train still was not moving. So that forced my hand and I had to travel to 34th.

That darn train. I am not even sure when it finally got going and left the area. I just know that I will stick with my plan and always head down 34th to get to the Tradewinds area. I don't care what my GPS tells me.